The author learns about a theory called "the looking-glass self" in sociology class: When we change our appearance, people treat us differently, and that changes us. As he grows from gang kid to young businessman, the writer sees this happen to him. (full text)

Marcus, a foster youth, is hurt by the way his peers associate bad behavior with being in foster care. But when he overhears a girl gossiping maliciously about a foster child in her family, it's the "normal kid" who's acting like a "problem child." (full text)

Edwidge describes the bewilderment, culture shock, and stereotypes she faces on arriving in the U.S. from Haiti at 12. She will later credit this essay with helping to inspire her novel Breath, Eyes, Memory, which became a New York Times bestseller. (full text)

“Being Chinese felt like a bad kind of different, like a crack in a wall,” writes Winnie. Determined to push back against the racist remarks she encounters, Winnie takes action and writes a play. (full text)

Julieta Velazquez challenges common stereotypes about immigrants, questions the contention that immigrants are taking jobs from American citizens, and asks who really profits from illegal immigration. (full text)

When Irving realizes that his 4th grade teacher has been criticizing and isolating him because he is dark-skinned, he develops a plan to prove that skin color is not an obstacle for learning.(full text)

Evin's parents warn him to avoid certain neighborhoods and he develops a wariness toward anyone from the "ghetto." It's not until he befriends kids from hood that he learns to separate "bad neighborhoods" from the people who live there. (full text)